Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has escalated the state’s effort to stop the exponential growth in coronavirus cases, issuing a stay-home order for residents and for non-essential businesses to close.

Business owners surveyed by PNC Bank remain optimistic about the local and national economies, despite worries about tariffs and pricing pressures and outlooks for slower growth ahead.

A coalition of business groups today urged state lawmakers to finally come up with a way to fix Michigan’s crumbling roads and bridges.

The latest outlook survey by Business Leaders for Michigan points to a stable state economy or slower growth in the months ahead with continued business investments.

State lawmakers are pushing once again to expand civil rights protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community as key legal cases on the issue sit before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The latest quarterly economic survey from Business Leaders for Michigan shows continued optimism about the state economy, although few executives expect higher growth through 2019 and into next year.

The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and three other Michigan business groups backed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposal to increase the number of state residents with a college degree and create a scholarship fund to help students go to school after high school.

Infrastructure and education remain at the top of the policy agenda for 2019 for Business Leaders for Michigan, a statewide roundtable of top business and higher education executives. Led by President and CEO Doug Rothwell, the group this year created a broad coalition of business, labor, philanthropy and civic leaders across the state that in 2019 will look at ways to improve K-12 education. The organization will continue to advocate as well for state investments in infrastructure.

A couple of recent benchmarking reports reiterate that despite Michigan’s decade of significant economic progress, the state needs to continue to change to maintain momentum and further improve.

A couple of recent benchmarking reports reiterate that despite Michigan’s decade of significant economic progress, the state needs to continue to change to maintain momentum and further improve.